“A sluggard says, ‘There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!’”

Lions were definitely a part of Solomon’s kingdom and thinking. Although lions were dangerous in his day, his kingdom was known for its peace and safety. Solomon actually took great pride in the fact that he kept the people in his kingdom safe. He knew the power of lions, he even had 12 statues of lions surrounding his throne. In this particular proverb, Solomon makes the point of how ridiculous a lazy person looks when they create excuses to not work. If you own a business that employs people, especially young people—although it’s not just the young—you can often be amazed at the excuses people come up with to not make it to work at all, or at least on time. As people come up with excuses to avoid not just hard work, but sometimes any work, they eventually run out of the opportunity to use the typical reasons and start reaching for the absurd. I recently saw someone explain their work absence by the death of a favorite aunt, only to later discover that they had only one aunt and she had died years before. Laziness becomes a habit that becomes a trap. Avoiding it when young, or breaking out of it when older, is a crucial part of living the full, disciplined, yet powerful life God offers. Today, get up and go, for the Kingdom. #BeTheEdge

“Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.” 2 Thessalonians 3:12 NIV